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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

- Now onto the specifics of Justine Henin's "returnament" which includes beefing up her serve and reaching a 70% first serve percentage so she can finally grab that elusive Wimbledon title according to coach Carlos Rodriguez. "Justine is convinced we can reconstruct her serve. We have time."

- Kim Clijsters released her first comments after yesterday's announcement by JuJu via her website saying, "I think Justine's comeback is great news for women's tennis and even better news for Belgium. Justine has worked very hard to accomplish the results she has in her career, and I think it can only be a positive thing for the sport to have her back." JuJu had some surprising words for her compatriot as well. "I have come to realize that I would not have been this strong if she had not been there at the time," said the 7-time Grand Slammer. Aww, feel the love. For now.

- The ever-present stalkeratti nettedRoger Federer and a pinky Birkin Bag-toting Mirka (to die) in NYC during the US Open and in Italy during last weekend's Davis Cup play

- Was Rafael Nadal planning to propose to longtime girlfriend Xisca Perello while competing in the Thailand Open? According to The Daily Express, The Matador laid down 50,000 GBP and "had booked into the five-star Thailand resort of Rayavadee, picking the three-bedroom villa facing the sea." He also reserved a private boat for a day, private plane and three dedicated butlers leading some to believe a proposal was on the horizon. But as we all know Rafa pulled out of the tourney citing the ab injury he sustained in Cincinatti.

- With all this talk of retirements + returnaments in tennis, should the powers-that-be seriously consider sabbaticals or extended breaks for the sport? For his part Steve Tignor believes there's more than one way to be a tennis champion including how they choose to navigate their careers.

- The 2010 Davis Cup draw has been decided and the biggest news is a potential Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal face-off when Switzerland battles Spain in their first round tie. Another notable tie showcases the US battling Serbia on their home turf. Mouthwatering much?

UPDATE: A couple of stories I just picked up. Small but worth it!

- Serena Williams talks about being "On the Line" in a few ways (or not) with NPR. She says of her tirade at the US Open: "Well, you know, there was a lot of things factored into it. I am a passionate a person. And like I said, I mean, when you see me play, you always see me pumping my fists. You always see me being really intense about every point. You see me throw my racket at times. And this is the case where I may have - not may. I definitely wore my emotions a little too far on my sleeve and - at a bad call."

Oh, Richie. I have the funniest story about how, in my mind, I helped Kim win the USO!

It was the first few days of the USO. Kim was being interviewed by either the Tennis Channel or ESPN. Her group was very small, maybe her husband and manager or coach?, and they were standing off to one side. Close to them was me and a group of outcasts (reporters, physios, etc.) and we were having a discussion about all the grunting the women do. I hate it and was making my feelings known on the subject. I have always loved Kim, so I turned to her group and told them I hoped Kim and Serena would meet and Kim would take it to Serena with a "I pushed a baby out. That all you got?" response to her grunting. Actually, I didn't tell them, as much as I said it loudly in their direction. So when Kimmie was beating Serena, I naturally convinced myself it was all my doing!

I can't even take credit for coming up with the quote. A friend of mine mentioned it to me back when we first heard Kim was making a comeback. She said she hoped their first meeting would be at the USO, too, and that came true! :)

Ha! Natch, I love Serena (I know I'm in the minority here) but I am ok with it knowing that you had a hand in it. Besides, Kimmy is the Belgian everyone loves, (including Serena and her fans)

I'm really thrilled for her. I hope she takes it to the one who said "she was a little bit scared to beat me" when she returns and sends her back to dancing, singing,UNICEF, perfecting signals with Carlos, man-hunting .. whatever she was doing.

Sorry Henin fans, I'll be glad when she's gone and she's not even back yet.

Anon & Rich,I know I have 0% to do with Kim's victory. But in my mind, when she heard I believed in her, she knew she could do anything. BTW, this is the same mind that believes Tommy Haas is going to develop a thing for WAY older yoga teachers and demand to sleep with me. Srsly, I'm keeping line one on my phone open, Tommy!

"Now more juice! We want the juice!!"Ask. If I can answer, I will.

Oh yes, and Maite? You can marry him, but the rest of us want to ravage him. ;)

Nole is hilarious. A bit spoiled, I think, but who doesn't think that? But I loved trading jokes with him. Believe it or not, I rarely ran into Andy and his bunch. I saw them practice often...and ALWAYS zoned in on Ross! (Except he wasn't always with them.) Nic is hotter in person than he appears on tv. I ran into the entire Armada at dinner one night, but I can't say a whole lot about it, except that I embarrassed two of them and got a hug from one of them by embarrassing the other two. So it was win/win for me! :) Oh yes, and Uncle Toni? WAY hot.